Is Alzheimer’s disease caused by lack of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is involved in cognitive function?
I know that it impacts the hippocampus region of the brain. Acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter in the brain and its availability is decreased early in Alzheimer’s disease. This observation, noted several decades ago, led to widespread experiments aimed at increasing acetylcholine at the synapse (the structure where chemical information is passed from one nerve cell to another) by providing the ingredients from which the brain could produce this neurotransmitter. Other experiments sought medications that would slow down the destruction of acetylcholine present in the diseased brain. This slowing down of destruction of acetylcholine, by inhibiting the enzyme that breaks it down (called cholinesterase) is the mechanism of action of widely used medications for Alzheimer’s disease: donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Razadyne). But the limitations on the effects of these medications, along with newer findings, has led researchers to believe that other ba
I know that it affects the hippocampus region of the brain. Acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter in the brain and its availability is decreased early in Alzheimer’s disease. This observation, noted several decades ago, led to widespread experiments aimed at increasing acetylcholine at the synapse (the structure where chemical information is passed from one nerve cell to another) by providing the ingredients from which the brain could produce this neurotransmitter. Other experiments sought medications that would slow down the destruction of acetylcholine present in the diseased brain. This slowing down of destruction of acetylcholine, by inhibiting the enzyme that breaks it down (called cholinesterase) is the mechanism of action of widely used medications for Alzheimer’s disease: donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Razadyne). But the limitations on the effects of these medications, along with newer findings, has led researchers to believe that other ba
